Education Minister reveals why he left the US academia for politics
Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has revealed why he chose to leave academia to get into politics after he decided to return to Ghana from the United States of America (USA), where he taught mathematics for over a decade.
Speaking at an engagement in Accra, he said he relocated from the USA to Ghana after President Akufo-Addo urged him to return home to help better the educational system having witnessed his achievements in the US, where he owns three schools.
On why became a politician, the Education Minister said he decided to go into politics because he thought then-presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could forget about him if he won the 2016 elections.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum furthered that he decided to run as a Member of Parliament in the Bosomtwe Constituency to keep him in the mind of then-candidate Akufo-Addo should he win that general election.
“When Nana Addo told me he was bringing free SHS, and so I should come home and help with its implementation, I then went to one of my white counsellors to advise me on what to do. He told me, ‘Yaw, America can do without you, but maybe your country cannot do without you.’
It touched my heart, and I decided to come and help. But I told myself that this man is a politician; what if he forgets about me later when he wins power?
So, I decided to also become a politician myself. So I contested to become an MP at Bosomtwi, where I won and came to Parliament.
I was made a deputy minister of education and served under Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh for four years when the NPP won the 2016 election.
I was later elevated to substantive minister when we won the 2020 election for me to implement the discussion I had with him in America. Ghanaians are witnesses to the tremendous work we have been able to do with the Free SHS programme,” he stated.
He is credited for ensuring massive development in Ghana’s education sector, particularly with his emphasis on boosting the teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Dr Adutwum after serving as Deputy Minister of Education in President Akufo-Addo’s first term of government was appointed as Minister of Education in Akufo-Addo’s second term of government after being re-elected as President in 2020.
Profile of Yaw Osei Adutwum
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Bosomtwe Constituency in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.
He was born on April 9 1964 and hails from Jachie in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum obtained a bachelor’s degree in Land Economy (Business Administration with a major in Real Estate) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology before he migrated to the United States of America and also holds a master’s degree in Education Management from the University of La Verne and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California.
He founded the New Designs Charter Schools, but before he established that, he worked as a Mathematics and Information Technology teacher at the Manual Arts High School for ten years. During this period, he founded the International Studies Academy, which served as a small learning community for students to thrive academically and socially.
He also served as the lead Maths teacher in the USC/ Manual Arts Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI. He was also part of the task force established by the National Research for Career and Technical to develop a national model for career and technical education in the High School and College levels. He is currently the Deputy Minister for Education in charge of Pre-tertiary Education.
On January 21, 2021, Yaw Adutwum was promoted and appointed Minister of Education after serving as the Deputy Minister of Education for four years.
He has set up 35 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) senior high schools and 5 STEM universities across Ghana under his leadership.
